Do You Have a Smelly Coworker?

Let's face it, if you work, you undoubtedly have run into a smelly co-worker. These folks come in all types and even are in all different levels of authority. Yes, even those on the upper level of the corporate ladder may be a smelly reeking, stinking coworker. You can try to hide from these people, but they are everywhere. A smelly person can downright ruin a good working atmosphere. Worse, many of these people are not even aware of their problem. They could be the best dresses and/or courteous person in the office. If they are aware, and exhibit this behavior, then you have more serious issues at hand. Let's review the types of co-workers you may run into.

The Bad Breath Person

This person just plain and simple has bad breath all the time. Morning, noon and night, there is no letup to this person's breath. This is not a simple case of morning breath lingering around. It could be that this person simply does not brush their teeth or they may have some sort of medical condition. No matter the cause, when this person speaks, you hold your breath so as to not smell the bad breath.

Lunch Breath

This person apparently has no idea what certain foods can do to a person's breath. At lunch time, they consume the most obnoxious foods they can think of. Garlic bases foods, Mexican, etc. These foods can have such a potent affect on your breath, that they can smell up an entire office just by merely breathing. Brushing your teeth after lunch will NOT help, as the offending odor is coming from deep within your stomach. No amount of tooth paste will help. And if this person happens to burp? Oh my gosh, look out and get out of the way. Get out the glade plug-ins!

The Aftershave/Cologne Man

This guy puts on so much cologne that his scent will remain in a room for hours after he leaves. These guys must buy this offensive cologne buy the gallon. They splash it on freely thinking that this must attract women. The fragrance is so strong, coming within five feet of this person will make your eyes water due to the irritation of the odor, yet they are completely oblivious to this fact.

The Thick as Mud Perfume Women

Much like the Cologne man, these women douse their bodies with perfume so thick, coming within 5 feet of her makes your eyes water. Many times, this women also has make-up on so thick, she is barely recognizable as herself. This person leaves an odor trail wherever she goes. If the morning dose is not enough, midday, this person breaks out the bottle of perfume and douses some more on, as if the first batch of perfume somehow stopped smelling up the place.

The Gas Passer, or Flatulence

An unfortunate part of the digestive process, is the by-product known as gas, or farts. If you are working in a small area, nothing can be worse than the person who has gas and just lets them rip. This person may think that no one will notice, or that if there are several people around, maybe they will not think it is me. Unlike Perfume Lady and Cologne Man, gas can attack us all. Some of us are better able to control ourselves while others just feel the necessity to pass gas whenever and wherever they are. They simply chalk it up to no big deal as it is a natural as blowing your nose, sneezing, burping or any other number of normal body functions. While that may be true, but as we all know, and typically do not talk about, there are different levels of gas odor. Passing a little gas, that no one will notice is one thing, passing gas that will linger for 5 minutes and will peel the paint of the cube steel, is quite another.

The Smoker

The last type of person we will explore in this article is the smoker. This person comes back from the "smoke break" just reeking of smoke. As a non-smoker, this odor can be quite offensive. As a former smoker, this odor can be quite enticing. Whatever your stance, the smoke odor also lingers on offending anybody within range.

Smelly coworkers can come in all types. It is up to you on how you handle the situation. Typically, the best approach is to simply confront the person straight-up and discuss the concern. Sometimes they may not even be aware of the issue.